


Pretend

by Leni



Series: Makes Three [10]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-05
Updated: 2016-10-05
Packaged: 2018-08-19 18:02:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 385
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8220043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leni/pseuds/Leni
Summary: Was he Rumpelstiltskin again, or just Mr. Gold in a world that now moved forward?





	

It took all his strength not to reach for Belle and betray himself. In this land they were master and maid, nothing more. She lived in his home and cleaned after him, and in exchange she had a roof on her and her child's heads. They were not friends. They certainly were not lovers.

And Rumpelstiltskin missed her so much he found himself damning the Savior to hell and back for every day she wasted. It had been a bitter pill to swallow, to realize that Regina's curse had wrecked his home as much as it had everyone else's. 

He hadn't realized how much he'd gotten used to Belle's little touches as they went around their days in the castle, until he had woken up in this world and his maid resented him for taking advantage of a single mother's penury. There were no smiles or silly jokes, no conversation unless he dragged the words from her, and no childish laughter as she either kept her son in her rooms or took him to daycare on the weekends.

Anything to show her employer that he might have bought her services, but he had no right to her personal life.

His only defense against the bitterness of her cursed self was the memory of their time together, and it grew almost impossible to believe that those happy moments could have been so meaningful, when Belle now avoided him at every chance.

"Something wrong, Mr. Gold?" Regina purred, watching him closely.

She suspected, of course. Twenty-eight years had not dulled her memory so much that she wouldn't stand to attention the moment Mr. Gold had deviated from his script. But his actions did not seem more of a warning than those from others, pulled a little closer to their old selves by the presence of Emma Swan. He knew that Regina still couldn't tell whether he was Rumpelstiltskin again, or just Mr. Gold in a world that now moved forward.

If he took Belle's hand, even if he smiled at her, Regina would know for sure.

So Rumpelstiltskin tilted his head, made sure there was a crinkle of confusion between his eyebrows, and commanded himself to ignore Belle as she poured his tea. "Of course not, Madame Mayor. Whatever could be wrong?" 

 

The End  
04/10/16


End file.
